Unison spokesman Mark Edmundson said the protest was in response to a lack of communication between the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and the union before the decision was reached.

Parents across Teesside were left reeling after last month’s shock news of the closure of the nurseries at North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals.

The trust, which recently revealed the cost of subsidising the nurseries has been more than £750,000 over the past four years, says the nurseries had become “uneconomic to run” and will shut by the end of the year. More than 50 staff have been given 90 days’ notice.

Mr Edmundson, Unison area organiser said: “North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust ratified the decision to close the day nurseries on August 12, nearly one month before they deemed it appropriate to engage in any talks with Unison, the trade union representing the staff in the nursery who will be made redundant as a result of the closure decision.

“It took yet another month for the trust to give Unison the information we requested.

“Unison lodged a formal dispute with the trust earlier this month as this consultation is clearly neither fair nor meaningful; a fixed intention to close was made long before the trust fully engaged with Unison.”

There are 178 childcare places across the two sites. The Stockton-based nursery provides creche facilities primarily for hospital staff’s children aged from six weeks up to seven, as well as families in the wider community.

Jamie Picken, 33, of Norton, whose wife works at the hospital, said he was disappointed with the closure as the pair had been hoping to send newborn baby Pearl Isabella there.

He said: “Our son Theo, who’s four, has just started school but was at the nursery before that and he loved it.

“We’ve just handed the petition with over 1,000 names on to the Trust but they say there’s nothing that can be done now.

“There aren’t really many alternatives nearby so I’m not sure what we’ll do.”

Fellow Norton parent Deborah Ling, who was there with son Benedict, four, added: “The staff are amazing. They’re like a second family to our children.

“They were still taking children on in the summer. My one-year-old Meredith started there. It took her two months to settle in and as soon as she had they made the announcement. It was really disappointing.

“Parents haven’t really been looking for alternatives yet as they’re still hoping it will stay open.”

One nursery staff member, who did not want to be named, added: “Making the decision to close the day nurseries before engaging in consultation makes a mockery of the whole process. Unison, Trust staff and the local community are rightly furious at the decision being taken out of their hands.

“The Trust is urged to reverse this decision and engage in a formal consultation with all stakeholders to look at alternatives.”

The protest took place between 11am and 2pm to coincide with a meeting of the Trust’s executive board.